Published: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at 5:08 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at 5:08 p.m.

A resident of a populous southwest Ocala neighborhood said he was attacked by a pack of coyotes Tuesday night just feet away from his front door.

Jack Miller had just stepped into the muggy summer night to walk his poodle, Tinkerbell, and his Maltese/Chihuahua mix, Jax, when between five and eight coyotes surrounded him and began lunging at his tiny dogs.

Miller said Tinkerbell jumped between him and the coyotes "like a pitbull" to protect him, while Jax cowered behind him and darted in circles by his ankles.

He managed to punch one of the coyotes but said he couldn't fend off the yipping animals, which were coming at him from all sides. One grabbed Jax and bolted off.

"I dove at the dog, but it got away," he said. "It happened so quickly. I didn't have time to run for the door or anything."

As quickly as it began, the attack ended and the coyotes disappeared into the night.

"I loved that dog," Miller said of Jax. "That dog was part of my family. It belonged to my mother before she passed away."

Miller said Wednesday that his poodle seemed traumatized by the encounter and wouldn't go outside or eat.

Miller, likewise, was shaken and dumbfounded. You might expect an encounter with predators in some rural farming community, he said, but not in Hidden Lake subdivision, a heavily populated neighborhood of quarter-acre lots just off State Road 200.

"I'm saying, where I am, they came all the way into the subdivision. They knew what they were doing. It was very coordinated. It was almost like they worked it out."

A frustrated Miller said law enforcement told him they couldn't do anything, and state wildlife officials said there was little they could do either.

Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said coyotes are generally associated with western regions of the United States but are increasingly becoming a problem in Florida as well, as the species' population grows and development encroaches on their habitat.

Hill said it's no longer unusual to see them in populated areas, Last year, the residents of the exclusive Windermere community outside Orlando beseeched wildlife officials and private trappers to help get rid of aggressive coyotes.

It is uncommon, though, for coyotes to roam and hunt in packs like wolves, she said. They generally hunt alone or in pairs.

It is possible, Hill said, that Miller encountered a mother coyote teaching her cubs to hunt, or that a pack of coyotes foraging for food was surprised by Miller and took the opportunity to seize a small dog as prey.

"It doesn't surprise me that there's coyotes out there (in a residential area)," Hill said. "They're in all 67 counties in Florida. I can hear them at my house. But it's pretty bold when they take a dog right off the leash like that. It's happened before, but it's rare."

Hill said there aren't many effective ways to control coyote populations. Efforts to trap and kill them out west succeed briefly in thinning their numbers, only to see them come back stronger.

"They're here and they're here to stay," she said. "Any efforts to eliminate them are not successful. They are real survivors."

Hill said, then, that it is up to residents of coyote-infested areas to take matters into their own hands. They can shoot them, if the law permits. Or they can try to scare them away, because coyotes, like dogs, quickly lose their fear of people if they aren't challenged.

But above all, people who live in areas where the animals are present should avoid leaving small pets unattended and should avoid walking their pets at times of day when coyotes hunt, after dusk.

Phillip Hackle, vice president of the Florida Trappers Association, agreed that all of that is good advice but said people can take only so many precautions. At some point, Hackle said, aggressive coyotes must be met with force.

"Them coyotes are coming into people's neighborhoods," he said. "People have dogs on a leash, dogs in the yard. And if a coyote gets hungry, he's going to find a meal one way or another."

<p>A resident of a populous southwest Ocala neighborhood said he was attacked by a pack of coyotes Tuesday night just feet away from his front door.</p><p>Jack Miller had just stepped into the muggy summer night to walk his poodle, Tinkerbell, and his Maltese/Chihuahua mix, Jax, when between five and eight coyotes surrounded him and began lunging at his tiny dogs.</p><p>Miller said Tinkerbell jumped between him and the coyotes "like a pitbull" to protect him, while Jax cowered behind him and darted in circles by his ankles.</p><p>He managed to punch one of the coyotes but said he couldn't fend off the yipping animals, which were coming at him from all sides. One grabbed Jax and bolted off.</p><p>"I dove at the dog, but it got away," he said. "It happened so quickly. I didn't have time to run for the door or anything."</p><p>As quickly as it began, the attack ended and the coyotes disappeared into the night.</p><p>"I loved that dog," Miller said of Jax. "That dog was part of my family. It belonged to my mother before she passed away."</p><p>Miller said Wednesday that his poodle seemed traumatized by the encounter and wouldn't go outside or eat.</p><p>Miller, likewise, was shaken and dumbfounded. You might expect an encounter with predators in some rural farming community, he said, but not in Hidden Lake subdivision, a heavily populated neighborhood of quarter-acre lots just off State Road 200.</p><p>"I'm saying, where I am, they came all the way into the subdivision. They knew what they were doing. It was very coordinated. It was almost like they worked it out."</p><p>A frustrated Miller said law enforcement told him they couldn't do anything, and state wildlife officials said there was little they could do either.</p><p>Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said coyotes are generally associated with western regions of the United States but are increasingly becoming a problem in Florida as well, as the species' population grows and development encroaches on their habitat.</p><p>Hill said it's no longer unusual to see them in populated areas, Last year, the residents of the exclusive Windermere community outside Orlando beseeched wildlife officials and private trappers to help get rid of aggressive coyotes.</p><p>It is uncommon, though, for coyotes to roam and hunt in packs like wolves, she said. They generally hunt alone or in pairs.</p><p>It is possible, Hill said, that Miller encountered a mother coyote teaching her cubs to hunt, or that a pack of coyotes foraging for food was surprised by Miller and took the opportunity to seize a small dog as prey.</p><p>"It doesn't surprise me that there's coyotes out there (in a residential area)," Hill said. "They're in all 67 counties in Florida. I can hear them at my house. But it's pretty bold when they take a dog right off the leash like that. It's happened before, but it's rare."</p><p>Hill said there aren't many effective ways to control coyote populations. Efforts to trap and kill them out west succeed briefly in thinning their numbers, only to see them come back stronger.</p><p>"They're here and they're here to stay," she said. "Any efforts to eliminate them are not successful. They are real survivors."</p><p>Hill said, then, that it is up to residents of coyote-infested areas to take matters into their own hands. They can shoot them, if the law permits. Or they can try to scare them away, because coyotes, like dogs, quickly lose their fear of people if they aren't challenged.</p><p>But above all, people who live in areas where the animals are present should avoid leaving small pets unattended and should avoid walking their pets at times of day when coyotes hunt, after dusk.</p><p>Phillip Hackle, vice president of the Florida Trappers Association, agreed that all of that is good advice but said people can take only so many precautions. At some point, Hackle said, aggressive coyotes must be met with force.</p><p>"Them coyotes are coming into people's neighborhoods," he said. "People have dogs on a leash, dogs in the yard. And if a coyote gets hungry, he's going to find a meal one way or another."</p>